Ah yes the famous nut roast... I had years of enduring them at Christmas that or nut cutlets.. I do love nuts, especially brazils, but prefer them covered in chocolate or honey and salt..
I remember reading that the US was hard to find places to eat veggie food...

I eat meat becaus eI like the taste and because imo humans are designed to be omnivores ( I know a lot has changed since we were designed and there have been advances in what is readily available)

I used to work locally delivering from the slaughter house to butchers and I choose meat from Butchers I know buy from farms where welfare is important and care is taken in transportation etc.

I was brought up in a family where my dad went fishing and shooting and regularly helped him pluck and skin, my last partner went out shooting regularly and meat was often hanging in the shed.

I much prefer my meat to be already prepared, but if I had to I could and would.

I am also a bit confused about vegetarians who say they don't eat meat because of welfare issues but will eat fish and shellfish (as farming/catching of those and sometimes cooking of those is hideously cruel) or consume other products which contain animal derivatives. Thats fine if you don't eat meat because you don't like it but imo isn't fine if you don't eat meat on grounds of welfare.

At the end ofthe day each to their own but I personally eat meat because I like it and I use other animal products as I think as little as possible should be wasted as at the end of the day an animal has died (and by that very statement has in most cases, sadly, undergone some degree of suffering)

People who claim to be vegetarian but eat fish are not vegetarians according to the dictionary definition of a vegetarian .

Excellent post again Isochick and one I agree with 100%.

Totally agree,

but I am surprised that there are a lot of people who do take the stand they say they are vegetarian, and they themselves use that term, or they say I don't eat meat as I don't like the way animals are treated etc, which are imo good enough reasons to not eat meat but they will eat fish shellfuish and use products containing other animal derivatives and I just wonder do they not think there is still an element of suffering.

true vegetarians who have nothing to do with animal products and have chosen that way of life as an ethical stance are different to those who will choose which types of living creatures are to be subjected to low standards of welfare

Totally agree with this. I would love for mass production to be completely abolished, for welfare standards in ALL farms/abattoirs to be raised, inspections to be thorough and regular and for people to have to pay a fair price for their meat. It would mean a stop to factory farming and low welfare standards, and farmers would get a fair price. The meat eating public could buy their meat knowing it was of the highest standard and not off an animal production line and if that meant it cost more, then fine by me. People would have to perhaps eat less meat if the cost were higher, but I have no problem with that.

I agree with this, no I would never eat meat again myself, but I think if the mass production was stopped, farmers got a fair deal out of their livestock, not mere pennies, they wouldn't need to pump them full of crap, the meat would taste better and welfare would, I hope, be better for the animal...
I respect the people who buy locally, supporting local butchers and farmers. I also have nothing against those who go on shoots and kill their game, its just not for me

I totally agree with you .
I am a true vegetarian as an ethical stance against the way animals are treated .

Can I just ask something else, what is the difference between a 'normal' slaughter and a 'halal' slaughter, I watched a programme where this woman would only buy halal meat...?

Halal slaughter is where the animal's throat is slit and it bleeds to death, and animals have to be slaughtered in that way to be considered edible according to Islamic law. I think the same or similar goes for Kosher meat too. There was some talk about it becoming mandatory for the animals to be stunned first as they are with regular meat, but I'm not sure if that ever went through. If it's carried out correctly Halal slaughter is supposed to be painless iirc. But of course to do it properly the animal has to be very firmly restrained, so it's more stressful I'd imagine.